Mixedblood
by NekoHimeAnny
Summary: Fìli and Kíli are on their way back home in the Ered Luin when they encounter a strange girl. As they help her, the brothers find themselves in a lot of trouble and ups and downs. But slowly a friendship forms that's balanced on a knife's edge - this girl is afraid of dwarves... Rated T just to be safe. Set before and a little during the story of the Hobbit.
1. Chapter 1 - Different

_This is my first Hobbit (or rather Middle Earth/ Dwarf) fanfiction._

 _I'm grateful for every feedback, critique, review - so please tell me what you liked and what not :)_

 _Enjoy!_

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Chapter 1 - Different

The first time she saw them was in Orcfeste, a wealthy town settled at the gentle slope of a mountain, surrounded by light forest. A clear stream from the mountain top passed by the town, cascading a little more downhill before making its steady path into the valley. Orcfeste, once a small village surrounded by heavy walls and ruled by its castle, had turned into a town with flourishing merchandise after serving as a good defence station in the hard time of war. By now, a well known trade route was leading money and goods into the walls of the inner and outer district along with the people who brought and exchanged it. And this specific morning two of the passing people were dwarves.

Now, that is nothing too unusual as dwarves frequented the town quite often, delivering and selling their quality-goods. However, those two dwarves didn't come here for business. They were indeed simply passing through, perhaps thinking about a rest in this town for the night, looking around more or less interested while walking down the main road which ran through the town in soft turns. The older one of the two brothers – for brothers they were – was walking ahead, looking only for anything there might be needed (an inn, a food-store, whatever useful shop there might be). The younger however didn't seem to be as absorbed in finding what they'd need quickly; he walked a few steps behind his brother, enjoying the warm sun and watching the colourful people and buildings around him, spotting one or two funny scenes and some spots it must be nice to relax and enjoy your pipe in.

It was then that he caught glimpse of a girl, partly hidden in the shades of a passage between two houses, staring at him and his brother with big eyes. At first he thought it was only coincidence, that the girl had simply looked at something behind them. Not stopping in his track he curiously turned his head, meeting the girl's gaze head on – Bingo! She WAS really looking at him. Being in a good mood, he grinned and winked at her.

When their eyes met, the girl seemed to freeze for a moment and at his wink she quickly disappeared into the passway out of his sight. A little surprised at the sudden draw-back, the young dwarf stared at the shady spot for a second more before shrugging it off and following his brother, finding it funny how strange and shy girls sometimes react.

Some corners further away the girl stopped from the short run and pressed her hands against her drumming heart. Just what on earth had gotten into her? She usually avoided dwarves at all costs and when she spotted those creatures, the least she would do is to stare at them like she had now. Frantically she shook her head and blonde strands of hair freed themselves from the green scarf covering it. Why had she acted like this? Just when she had wanted to cross the street, she had spotted the two appearing at the top of the road and had quickly withdrawn into the shadow. But then there was something that made her observe those two wanderers, especially the one walking a bit behind the other. Somehow he seemed... different than the other dwarves she had met so far. But unfortunately that guy must have noticed her peering at him, and all of a sudden she had drawn attention to herself from one of the creatures she didn't wish any contact with. Thankfully that dwarf hadn't come after her. Or had he? She didn't hear any steps coming her direction and let out the breath she had unconsciously held back. The least she wanted was to run into any trouble. Tightening the grip on the basket she held, the girl straightened and quickly paced into the opposite direction, away from the busy main road.

Malithrá let out a sigh and leaned against the finally closed door. She was home. Safe. Not to be bothered by anyone. Her free hand pulled the scarf from her head and blonde locks spilled over her shoulders. Free at last! Inside the house was no need to hide her true identity. Now she could be just the way she was. A relieved smile found its way to her lips, and when she picked up her filled shopping basket it didn't seem as heavy as before.

"I'm home, mother!" she called and headed for the kitchen. "Oh, dear!" A slender woman with long blonde hair appeared in the hallway and welcomed the girl. "It took you quite a while. I was almost getting worried." Malithrá smiled at her mother and handed her the basket. "I know, it's dark already. Some goods weren't available at the usual places so I had to look around a little more." "Well, good to have you back safe and sound", the older woman replied and carried the basket to the kitchen table. Together they unpacked the groceries and sorted them before filling the empty places at shelves and in boxes. Several times the girl received praise for well picked fruits and vegetables and happily she returned the praise for the wonderful meals awaiting them.

After a simple dinner mother and daughter sat together at the kitchen table, each with a cup of steaming tea in front of them. Both were in thought, enjoying the familiar presence of the other and the cracking fire from the oven. It was in the middle of spring and so, while the days were gentle and warm, the nights could still become very cold. Malithrá gazed at the reflecting surface of her tea, finding a play of shade and light at the ceiling and her face. How different things seemed in different light... She gently blew over the liquid and the surface rippled, distorting the reflection. Then she looked up and gazed at her mother. She was beautiful. Her long hair seemed like golden silk and her face was delicate and noble. Long, sleek fingers traced the rim of her cup in fluid motion. Whenever Malithrá's mother Èthra moved it seemed flawless. The girl admired her mother and loved her deeply. Also because she knew how much pain she had endured and was still carrying – yet one didn't notice it in any of her behaviour. Only sometimes a glimpse of the sadness inside her broke through and gave Èthra's eyes a distant expression, as if she was reliving a carefully locked away memory. The lessons she had learned from them she had passed unto her daughter, wishing to avoid harmful mistakes to be repeated.

Now she was in thought, too. But her deep blue eyes didn't show any sign of disturbance. Malithrá bit her lower lip, took a sip from her cup and gazed into the reflection, avoiding to look at her mother. "Today... I had a strange experience." Èthra blinked and focused her gaze on her daughter, guiding her attention towards her. "A strange experience?", she asked. "What kind?" "An unexpected kind. You see... I was taking care of the street as usual and when I saw two of THEM coming, I went out of the way." Èthra nodded. A good reaction, keeping out of trouble, she thought. But then a slight fear rose in her heart when she noticed her daughter fidgeting. "Usually I'd have simply walked past them in great distance, ignoring them... but today..." Malithrá bit her lip again and paused for a moment. Her mother waited. "... today I stayed in my hiding place and observed them. I don't know why I did that! Something... somehow... I don't know... somehow they... that one... seemed different..." The girl gazed to the side, slightly troubled. Èthra tried to calm her alarming thoughts and kept listening in silence. "Well, through my stare... observing... that one guy seemed to notice it. And... he looked my way and saw me! … That's when I ran away..." she added a little more quiet. Then she looked at her mother and saw the unrest in her eyes. "Did they follow you?" "No. And I haven't seen them anymore. But, mother, what I find strange is... when that guy saw me looking at him straight away... he didn't react angry at all." Confused the girl scratched her head. "He... grinned. He didn't seem to be bothered at all. … he... he even winked at me..." A little insecure she sent her mother a shy glance. "Is that... bad...?"

Èthra sat in her chair for a moment in silence, mustering her daughter. Then she nodded and her gentle eyes turned hard. "Yes, it is. You know how they are, what they do. Don't make the same mistake as I did, Malithrá! Remember what they caused. Remember why we are here!" The two locked eyes for a moment, then Malithrá lowered her gaze, nodding. Èthra's expression softened and she reached out, stroking the girl's cheek. "Just take care of yourself, sweet heart. Don't let them fool you..."

* * *

Later that night, Malithrá couldn't sleep. Finding the world outside covered in the silver light of a full moon, she left the house and went to her favourite place, down by the river. A path led from the road into the light forest. Shortly before it reached the riverside it took a turn and ran alongside it. Here the girl left the path and crossed the stream by balancing over a fallen tree, struck by lightning last summer. Below her feet roared the water over the stones, filled with freshly molten snow from higher up in the mountains. Silver drops sprayed through the air and danced around the girl. Having reached the other side of the river, Malithrá followed its course until she reached the waterfall and the cascades. A big rock at this side of the river blocked the water's path and pressed it through a single small opening on the other side to spill into thin air. There, in the middle of the stream, the girl sat down and gazed into the nightly scenery of the valley below her. Trees covered the hillsides like dark waves and the silver band of the river separated them in gentle turns. Through the roaring and splashing of the falling water, the wind carried a wolf's long howl and once in a while the sound of a nocturnal bird.

Malithrá sat on the rock for a while, absorbed in the scenery and her thoughts. Her long white dress and the dark coat shielded her from the fresh night breeze which let her long hair dance like silver threads in the moonlight.

Suddenly a shudder went through her body and the girl instinctively drew the coat tighter. It must be very late already, she thought and blinked at the moon. The night had gotten chilly. Carefully the girl stood up and stretched her stiff limbs. She shivered again and turned to leave the rock and return home, when she froze in her movement.

Just a few steps away, on her side of the river, a big gray beast moved soundlessly through the trees, heading in direction of the town. This wasn't a wolf. It was bigger and of more brute appearance with rugged fur and a vicious face. Malithrá stared at the creature in shock. A warg! What on earth was a warg doing in this area? There hadn't been sightings of wargs since the last war against orcs. This couldn't be a mere coincidence. She had to return and warn the town!

Although the girl hadn't moved in the slightest, the wolf-like creature suddenly turned its head and stared at the girl. Glowing eyes met wide fearful ones and a low growl could be heard. The warg changed its direction and slowly headed towards the girl, obviously ready to jump at her every moment. When the menacing creature drew closer, Malithrá took a step backwards and stretched out her hand. There was no way she could outrun this beast, but maybe she could get out of this danger in some other way. She mustered all of her courage and met the warg's glare head on. Then a firm voice sounded through the night: "Stop right there."

Surprised the warg froze in its track and blinked. It was as if a gentle but firm hand had hindered it to move further. The creature shook its head and fixed its gaze at the girl in front of it again. She had seen the warg, she couldn't be left alive. Despite that fact, the beast was hungry. Whatever had held it back just now, it didn't matter. Anew the warg set out towards the girl.

Malithrá could see the confusion in its eyes but then the deadly glimmer had returned. She took another step backward, her hand still stretched out in a stopping gesture against the warg. "Stop right there." Her voice was firm and didn't let any of her fear through. "Turn around and leave me alone."

Again the warg stopped in its movement. Somehow it felt like obeying that voice. But then a hateful flame flared up in its eyes and it let out a threatening snarl. No chance!, the girl thought as the warg dashed at her in a clear attempt to kill her. As it jumped, she quickly ducked and ran for the shore, making the beast's claws hit thin air. Furiously her attacker spun around and charged at her again. Malithrá tried to dodge but stumbled and a burning pain exploded from her side. She glanced at the warg, its lips and teeth covered in a dark liquid, two steps away from her and ready for the next assault. In a desperate attempt to save her life, the girl ran unto the rock again, closely followed by her growling hunter. If she could jump over to the other side of the river, maybe the warg wouldn't follow her this way. Malithrá gathered her left strength, sped up, reached the chasm and jumped. Something ripped at her foot, her hands reached for the saving rock in front of her and for a moment she could feel the cold sleek surface under her fingers. Then she fell into the roaring abyss.

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 _Note: Since English isn't my first language, please tell me if you find something that doesn't make sense or sounds strange._

 _I'm sometimes using words that I think I know but am not sure... ^^;_


	2. Chapter 2 – An unexpected help

_Hi everyone! I hope you had a great and wonderful Christmas! And I wish you only the best in the world for the new year. Here comes the next part, just before the old year leaves us. Enjoy! :)_

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Chapter 2 – An unexpected help

Early in the morning the two brothers were on the road again. Having spent the night in a comfortable bed, they felt well rested and up for a long day of walking. They followed the main road that lead downhill from Orcfeste past the cascades and further through small villages towards the coast. Soon they would come to a crossing and take the road leading south with the mountains to their left until it reached the Gulf of Lhûn. They wouldn't follow the road to its end though, but take another turn and cross the mountains, directly reaching Thórin's Halls – their home.

Steadily the dwarves made their way through the forest, the river running with white foam to their left. Suddenly the blonde dwarf, who walked a few steps ahead of the other, stopped and held his arm out to make his brother halt as well. "Huh?" The younger dwarf looked at him surprised, but the older gestured to the river. "Look."

A few steps from the sandy riverside was a rock, partly being swept over by the current. On the flat top of it lay a whitish something that didn't look like it belonged there. Without a word the brothers left the road and hurried to the waterside. "Looks like a girl!" the dark haired dwarf exclaimed and threw his bags and weapons unto the ground. Then he waded into the shallow water. Reaching the rock, he climbed up and examined the person in front of him. "It is a girl", he shouted over to his brother. "And she is wounded." The girl was hardly taller than the dwarf himself and lying on her stomach, the legs partially floating in the stream. Her white dress was drenched in blood and water. Carefully the young dwarf turned her so she'd lie on her back, no longer being in the danger of drowning – if she was still alive. When he spotted another bleeding wound at her temple, he let out a surprised shout. "Fíli! I know that girl! I've seen her yesterday in the town!" The other dwarf frowned. "Right. But is she still alive?!" The younger dwarf bit his lip, a bit ashamed to be reminded of the most important thing right now. He leaned in, neither feeling nor hearing any breath. Her skin was cold when he reached for her hand, but he could sense a very weak pulse. Quickly he took off his mantle and covered the girl with it. Then he slid back into the water, pulled the girl from the rock and carried her to the riverbank. "I can feel her pulse but she's not breathing!" The blonde dwarf came over and knelt down beside the girl. "She probably almost drowned. We need to get that water out of her."

With silent understanding the brothers tried their best to reanimate the girl. After a while Fíli quickly drew back and turned the girl's head to the side – just in time as she finally started coughing up the water she had swallowed. The brothers looked at each other relieved and then back to the girl, who lay helplessly in a coughing fit until Fíli supported her back and helped her sit up slightly. "Try talking to her, Kíli. We need to know how bad her condition is", he ordered while closely eyeing the head wound. The girl's eyelids fluttered open and Kíli gazed into glassy blue-green eyes. Apparently she couldn't focus yet. "Hey," he started. "Can you hear me?" The only reply was a weak moan, but a reply it was. The dwarf smiled. "That's great! You're safe now, don't worry. We'll take care of you now. Just don't give up, okay? Can you speak? What's your name?"

The girl's eyes wandered aimlessly, her head aching. But she could hear someone's voice. Her name... She tried opening her mouth in an attempt to answer. However nothing came out. Her eyes rolled back and the world turned black once again.

* * *

"Hurry up!" - "I am!" - "You wanna switch?" - "Nah, it's fine. How far?" - "Should be there any time now..." - "Good."

The sun had risen to its fullest behind the gathering clouds. In dim light the brothers hasted towards the nearest village, one carrying the girl, the other their bags. Kíli had slightly fallen back as he had noticed the girl's wounds to bleed more heavily. It must have been from the movement. If she kept on bleeding like this, was there even a chance she'd make it?

"Ah! I see houses!" Fíli, who had hurried ahead, gestured towards one of the buildings hidden between the trees. "That must be the doctor's!"

There was a garden full of herbs and plants around a simple wooden house. Through one of the windows fell light and a branch of herbs decorated the door. If this wasn't the doctor's house, at least someone with an understanding of healing would live in there. Kíli followed his older brother to the front door where the blonde dwarf was already knocking against it heavily. "Please open up! This is an emergency!"

The door opened and an elderly woman looked at them questioning. Then she spotted the injured girl and stiffened slightly. "Oh my! Just when my husband isn't at home!", she mumbled. The dwarves looked at each other worriedly. "Is there a way you can help us?", Fíli asked. But the woman only shook her head. "I cannot. But if you follow the road to the market place of the neighbouring town, you should find my husband there. He went out to treat the ones who cannot come to our house at central places. It's not far, maybe the quarter of an hour if you hurry. But wait a moment." She looked at the girl again, then opened the door widely. "Come in, I will tend to that bleeding as good as I can before you carry on."

Having the girl bandaged around head and abdomen, the dwarves carried on to the next small town. Indeed they found the doctor at the market place, treating patients in front of a white tent. When they reached him, he was talking to a man about how to use the contents of a small bottle. Fíli looked at the girl his brother was carrying, then went straight up to the doctor, cutting in on the talk: "I'm sorry to interrupt doc, but we have an emergency." The doctor, a tall man with white hair, looked up and gazed into the direction the newly arrived dwarf gestured. He frowned. "Indeed. Please excuse me, Mister Barn. But this seems to be serious. Just trust your wife with the preparations, she knows what to do." He got up, greeted the other man and pulled the curtain at the entry of the tent aside. "Bring her in", he ordered the dwarves and went to get his tools. "Put her down on the table and wait outside."

Carefully the brothers laid the girl unto the examination table. "Do you think she'll make it?", Kíli whispered to his brother who only shrugged. When the physician returned from his preparations, the two left the tent, searching for a place to spend their time of waiting.

The sun had almost reached midday and the queue in front of the doctor's tent had grown. Fíli and Kíli sat in the shade of a big oak in the middle of the market place and observed the happenings, talking quietly once in a while – with Kíli complaining about his slowly drying boots more than once. By now, the brown haired dwarf gazed yearningly over to an inn. "I can smell roasted pork from there...", he mumbled. His brother only rolled his eyes in reply. "Not now, Kíli. He could be comin' out any time now." The younger shot him a glare. "But I'm hungry!", he protested. "One could go and get us something to eat. Waiting is worse than walking!" Fíli looked at his grumbling brother and couldn't help a chuckle. "Very well, Mr. Starving. Go and get us something to eat then." It was fun as always to watch the rapid change from sulking to a huge grin on his brother's face. But just when Kíli jumped up to run towards the promising scent, his brother held him back. "Wait. The doc's come out. Let's deal with this first."

The dwarves picked up their belongings and went over to the man who was looking around in search for the previous interrupters. When they arrived, he lead them into the tent, his expression serious. "What relationship do you have towards this girl?", he asked. The brothers looked at each other and Fíli replied: "No more than seeing her once in town and finding her at the riverside." The physician nodded. "So you don't know who she is?" Kíli shrugged, frowning. "A girl from Orcfeste, but else no idea. Did she make it?" His eyes met the doctor's, but no clear answer was showing. "I don't know if she will make it. I treated her as good as I could, but she has lost a lot of blood and body heat. If she makes it through the night, the chances are good that she will recover. But there is no guarantee that this will happen." He eyed the dwarves in front of him. "A girl of Orcfeste you said... I suppose you want to travel on and got delayed by this – which I'm sure the girl will thank you for if she recovers. I will keep her here for the night and see what I can do in the morning." Fíli nodded and wanted to leave just when his brother shot him a side-glance and spoke up: "Thanks, doc, but it's alright. We're gonna leave her in your care for now and check on her tomorrow – if she's fine by then, we can bring her back." Fíli stared at his brother and the doctor frowned but didn't say anything about it. Usually dwarves weren't the caring type if it wasn't for their family or business. "Very well", he agreed. "I will see you in the morning then."

The dwarves bowed politely and left the tent. They walked a few steps away from the crowd, then Fíli snapped: "What on earth did you just-" "Ooohhh, now we can finally go and have something decent to eat, dear brother!", Kíli cut in on his brother's scolding and beamed with anticipation. "Now I'm really starving, come on!"He grabbed his fellow dwarf's arm and dragged him towards the inn, blabbering on about what he'd like to eat now while his brother desperately tried to lecture his sibling. "Kíli! Kíli! Shut it for a moment and listen to me! For once, FOR ONCE! we're not in delay and here you are, telling that doc that we'd take care of someone we don't even know?! Kíli! I don't mind helping people, you know that, but this is going too far! He was already taking over! No, I don't want beef right now... hey! Are you even listening to me?!" "Of course I am", Kíli grinned. "No beef you said. How about pork then? - ouch!" He ducked as the blonde dwarf hit the back of his head and laughed. "C'mon, Fee. We'll be home just in time, don't worry. So pork it is?" Fíli sighed and shot his brother an exasperated glare which said one took as a "yes". "Great! There's a free table over there. Let's eat first, you're too hungry to think, bro." "Oh, you're the one to talk", the older dwarf murmured and reluctantly followed the other to the free table.

A big portion of meat and ale later, the brothers leaned back in their seats full and content. At least one of them. As Kíli had assumed, his brother was calmer with a filled tummy, yet the latest decision concerning their travel route was still bothering him. The young dwarf could feel his brothers eyes on him and looked up from his drink, questioning returning the glance. Fíli only raised one eyebrow as there was no need for words. But Kíli only sent him a joyful smile and turned his attention back to his beverage. The older sighed and leaned forward, folding his arms on the table and fixed his gaze on his brother to regain his attention. Kíli sent him an innocent glance. Time for a serious talk.

"Now, dear brother... since we're not the type to go back on our words..." - and he couldn't help a scolding glance at this - "... won't you tell me what made you so caring for that girl we found? Hm?" Still partly hiding behind his beer mug, the spoken to mustered an indifferent expression and took another gulp. "Me? Caring? Dunno what you're talking about." Fíli grimaced. "You changed our schedule. Why?" The younger dwarf shrugged and looked around the room, searching for something to distract the other with. Obviously he wasn't very fond of the topic. "I just liked that town she comes from. 'twas pretty and I'd not mind visiting it again." "Kíli!", his brother groaned. That for sure wasn't the reason. He kept his gaze unmoving, when the younger suddenly pointed at something. "Oh, what's that? Look at that, bro! Over the-" "NO. Quit trying to avoid the talk. If we're delayed, I will be the one who will have to answer to questions. So at least give me the reason so I know why we're doing this!" Now Kíli shot his brother a guilty glance and squirmed in his seat. There, that was more likely to become a real answer. Fíli's tensed expression softened ever so slightly and he watched his sibling take another drink before turning towards him. "Well...", the dark haired dwarf started and offered his brother an embarrassed puppy-glance, "... I'm not really sure bout that either, to be honest..." Fíli stared at him dumbfounded and Kíli replied with a sheepish grin. "... thing is, she... didn't tell me her name yet... and... ah, I don't know." Nervously he scratched his cheek while his brother couldn't bring himself to change his expression. "I, uh... y'know... I just felt like helping her... uhm... taking care of her... err... something like that...?" He peered at his brother who clearly wasn't very happy about his explanations. And right now, by trying to voice his reasons, Kíli felt quite stupid as well. Ashamed he gazed down at the table and mumbled a quiet "sorry." What more could he say now?

After some minutes of silence, Fíli suddenly spoke up again: "Very well, Kee. Since you felt this way and offered the service of bringing her back, we'll do it." Surprised the younger dwarf looked up. His brother's face was neither showing the hard nor the flabbergasted side, but in fact a rather amused one, which confused Kíli quite a bit. Fíli met his sibling's gaze and locked eyes with him: "But YOU will be the one who takes care of that girl. YOU will explain things if anything else happens connected to this matter. YOU will take the responsibility for this. Got that?"

The younger stared at his brother for a moment, then he laughed out loud and apparently relieved. "Sure, bro! Don't worry bout that, I'll take care of it!" Then he smiled at the blonde dwarf: "Thanks."

* * *

There was a bright light and searing pain. Such a bright light that it was already blinding her and made darkness swallow her up. From afar she could sense a dull ache as she drifted further into the dark. She felt neither cold nor warm, there was no light, no sound around her. Was she sleeping? There was no time in this place. Only a shapeless floating in darkness.

All of a sudden, something strong pulled her upwards. Light flooded her senses. Coldness. A raging pain exploded in her head. The sound of water. Then a sudden sensation made her body jerk, her lungs burn. Air! What was happening? She couldn't orientate herself, there were only shudders and coughs shaking her body. Until someone lifted her and the heavy movement ceased. Who was it? A voice. Someone was speaking. She forced her eyes open to see but only colours and blurred shapes came into her view. Where was she? Something was moving in front of her. Another voice, talking to her. Hearing? Yes. She could hear. The shapes slowly sharpened. A man? Dark hair. Was she dreaming? Her name. He asked for her name. The colours started swirling and turned black. It must have been a dream. Darkness welcomed her back and everything else faded.

When Malithrá opened her eyes she was met with a greyish ceiling. Dim light filled the surroundings. Was it night? The blurry colour made her head ache. She closed her eyes again and shifted slightly. Ouch! That hurt, too! A groan escaped her and her eyes flew open again. What... Slowly she lifted her head from the soft cushion it rested on and tried to ignore the spinning feeling while getting an overview of where she was. A grey tent. Several instruments a physician would use on a bench. A separating curtain towards other parts of the tent. A seat in one corner and someone sitting on it. Malithrá's vision blurred slightly. Dark hair? Getting dizzy she let her head fall back a little too abruptly. "Ah! Ouuu..." That hurt as well. Apparently her whole body was aching once she moved it. Or put it back to rest. Just what had happened? She felt worn out and very tired.

From behind the curtain the sound of footsteps came closer and a tall man entered. He looked at the girl and smiled. "Now that's a pleasant surprise – you're awake." He came over to her side and Malithrá sent him an unsure glance before closing her eyes again. Her head felt like it would split. Obviously the man noticed. Quietly he asked her to answer a few questions before going back to sleep and lifted the blankets where they were covering her hand. "I just need you to indicate with your thumb if the answer is yes or no, miss. Are you feeling sick? Yes. You're head aching? I'll give you something to help you sleep. Are you cold? No? Good. Thirsty? Ok. Are you from Orcfeste? Yes. We will get you back there, don't worry. Now, I'll give you some medicine and you go back to sleep."

As cool liquid ran down her throat, the pain seemed to cease and an ever so slight thankful smile graced her lips when she sank back into the comforting darkness of sleep.

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 _Note: As always,_ _I'm grateful for every feedback, critique, review :)_

 _Since English isn't my first language, please tell me if you find something that doesn't make sense or sounds strange. I'm sometimes using words that I think I know but am not sure... ^^;_

 _Happy new year, everyone! May God bless you!  
_


	3. Chapter 3 – Unexpected difficulties

Chapter 3 – Unexpected difficulties

When Fíli entered the doctor's tent the next morning, he found both his brother and the girl sound asleep. He chuckled and nudged his sibling slightly. "You could have slept better if you had stayed at the inn." Kíli stirred at the touch and sound and let out an unwilling grumble. Then he blinked his eyes open and glanced at his brother, mumbling "When I'm taking care of somethin', I'm taking care of somethin'..." but Fíli only grinned and paced over to the girl. "She's still breathing. Looks like she made it."

A rustling sound came from the other side of the curtain and both dwarves looked up as the physician entered. "Indeed", he confirmed Fíli's statement and started feeling the girl's temperature and pulse. "She made it through the night. She even woke up once, so she is recovering already." He saw the dark haired dwarf throw his brother a joyful look, while the latter seemed hesitant in regarding this as good news. "How long will she need to recover until she can travel?" The doctor regarded the blonde dwarf with an understanding glance. "A few days at least I'd say. While her head wound might cause her aches and dizziness, the bigger trouble would be the wound at her side. She needs to stay put, so that muscles and flesh can heal and not be strained too soon. Otherwise the wound will open again and cause loss of blood." He straightened and gazed at the dwarves. "Under other circumstances I would keep her with me for at least a week so she'd not move too soon. Yet as it is now, I will have to leave her in your care – I have to move on to the next town, other patients are awaiting me there." Kíli's happy face faltered for a moment as he considered the length of time the girl would need to be able for travelling. Not only his brother had noticed it. "I can still try to find someone else to take care of her. I understand that one week is a long time." "No." The dark haired dwarf rose from the chair and met the physician's eyes. "We said we'd take care of her and we'll do so. Please leave it to us, doc."

The doctor nodded. Fíli bit his lip and rather kept quiet for now. One week. One week to recover! That didn't include the travelling back and forth part. It would take 2 days at least to get the girl back, as she couldn't move quickly even when she was able to walk. That would give them at least 10 days delay. If nothing else happened. But he had agreed with his brother on this matter and he wouldn't be the one to take his word back either. So he paid attention to the doctor's orders on how to treat the wounded girl and hoped that his brother would stick to his word concerning taking responsibility about this incident.

* * *

When Malithrá opened her eyes, the view had changed. Dark chocolate brown beams carried the ceiling of the room, dim daylight slid through partly closed curtains and the warm shine of a fire painted the edges of furniture and walls in orange. Soft blankets covered her and her head didn't ache as much as the last time. How about her overall condition though? As she stirred slightly, the pain woke again and a strained sound escaped her throat. Then, a sudden movement beside her made her turn her head towards it; only to let it sink back again with a moan. The dizziness came too fast and Malithrá quickly closed her eyes again.

"Shhh, don't move that much."

A calming male voice right beside her. Had she heard this one before? She felt the sheets moving slightly, someone must have sat down on the bedside.

Slowly, the girl opened her eyes again.

There, a young dark haired man. He was sitting beside her legs, placing himself in her view without her having to move. A genuine smile.

"Hey there. How are you feeling?"

Malithrá mustered the guy in silence. He seemed familiar. Like she had seen him once in a dream or long ago.

He waited for a while but as there was no response showing, his smile faltered slightly and his voice received a worrying hint.

"Uhm... can you hear me?"

A faint smile moved the girl's lips and finally she managed her first words after the darkness: "Where am I?"

Rarely had she seen such open happiness in the face of a stranger when he heard her speak. "Oh, thank Mahal, you can speak! That means you must be better already! Say, what's your... oh, sorry, I'm sorry, you wanted to know where you are. Of course! You're at the "King's Pint", an inn. In Watrown... yeah, that was the town's name I think. Oh, it's such a relief to have you awake, miss! We were already worried you wouldn't make it!"

Blown away from the amount of words that came out of that guy like a fountain, Malithrá just stared at him for a moment in amazement. Mahal? Only dwarves referred to Aule that way... The King's Pint? That sounded familiar. Yes, Watrown wasn't far from Orcfeste. That's good. That's not far from mother.

Only now noting the girl's stunned expression, the man – or dwarf? - calmed down in his excitement, cleared his throat and sent the girl an apologizing glance. At this, Malithrá's face relaxed again and the smile returned.

"Thank you." She gazed at the guy in front of her and tried to bring her thoughts in order. "... what happened?"

A slight sign of worry showed in the guy's eyes at her question. "I had hoped you could answer me that question. All I can tell you is, that we found you at the riverside, almost dead. You have a major wound at your head and your side. We found a doctor in this town and he treated you. He wasn't sure if you'd make it, but it seems like you're recovering quite well. He had to move to another town, so we'll take care of bringing you back home. … You're from Orcfeste, aren't you?" he asked and brown eyes met surprised greenish ones at the mention of the name of her current home town. She frowned. "Yes... I am. How do you know..." Her eyes widened in sudden realization and she took in a sharp breath. The abrupt change of her expression startled the dwarf in front of her. For a dwarf it was, she remembered now. Suspiciousness covered the eyes he was looking at now and the girl's face grew hard. "You've seen me... I've seen you... in town..." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she fixed him with her gaze. "Who are you?"

Unsettled by what he might have done wrong, the dwarf slipped off the bedside and bowed politely. "Kíli, at your service." He glanced at the girl but was only met with an indifferent expression. "… uhm... might I inquire your name, too?" he added slightly insecure.

The girl nodded ever so faintly. "Malithrá. My name is Malithrá."

* * *

Kíli was already awaiting his brother at the door. The blonde dwarf eyed the younger one curiously as he had expected him to keep watch inside the room. When Fíli was only a few steps away, Kíli approached him, wearing a difficult expression.

"Something wrong?"

The dark haired dwarf sent his sibling a glance and replied in a hushed voice. "She woke up a while ago. She's sleeping again now." "Oh, that's good, isn't it?" Fíli asked with a raised eyebrow. His brother only bit his lip. "... it's not?" "It is, it is! It's just..." Kíli let out a sigh. "She is... acting a little strangely. Maybe it's just the shock but...", he looked around the hallway, then back to his brother, concerned. "... I'm not sure she'll want us to take care of her." "Huh?" Now it was Fíli's turn to look confused. "Why's that?" Kíli rubbed his neck. "I don't know. It's just a feeling I got. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe next time she wakes up will be just fine..."

But next time wasn't fine. At least not the way Kíli had hoped for. Having spent the rest of the day with planning, preparations and waiting, the brothers were sitting in their rented room as night had fallen, talking quietly. When the girl stirred, Kíli got up and went over to the bed. Malithrá blinked her eyes open and gazed around the room, stopping at the dwarf's figure. He smiled at her. "Good evening, my lady. How are you feeling?"

The girl's lips formed a slight smile as she closed her eyes again and let out a disappointed sigh. Somehow she had hoped to find herself alone. "I'm not nobility...", she mumbled, then glanced at the dwarf again. Kíli grinned. "Who knows? Are you hungry?"

Malithrá considered his words for a moment. "A little maybe. Rather thirsty though..." The dwarf nodded and turned back to the table he had sat at. Only now the girl realized another person sitting in the room. She frowned slightly.

Kíli came back with a cup of the herbal tea the doctor had ordered them to give the girl. Noting his patient's gaze, he looked back to where she was staring at. "Oh, that's my brother, Fíli.", he introduced him with a smile. The blonde dwarf bowed slightly in his seat. "At your service."

Malithrá looked a little puzzled but managed a slight nod. She knew the proper answer but somehow she was reluctant to give it.

"Here." Kíli brought the cup into her sight, averting her attention from the second dwarf. "Something to drink for you. … can you sit up? I can help you, if you want", he offered.

Malithrá took a breath and gazed at the cup. "I'll try it myself...", she murmured. Slowly she flexed her arm muscles – no unbearable pain so far. Then she tried lifting her upper body.

"Ugh!"

A shot of pain went through her side, making her give up any further try. Instead she closed her eyes, sank back into the sheets and took a few deep breaths. It hurt too much.

Kìli frowned and sat down beside the girl. "Might be better if I help you..." he muttered and carefully slid his arm under the girl's back. She stiffened at the contact but the dwarf chose to ignore it. "There..." He lifted her upper body to the extend of almost sitting and handed Malithrá the cup. The girl obviously didn't feel comfortable and when she reached for the cup, her hands were shaking. So Kíli rather kept the cup in his hand to stabilize it, afraid that the shaking would spill its content. He was rewarded with a rather unhappy face.

Once the cup was emptied and the girl back in the world of dreams, Kíli let out a weary sigh. His brother regarded him with an understanding gaze. "I just don't understand what's wrong with her..." he mumbled and shook his head slightly. "I feel like she doesn't even want me to help her at all."

* * *

The world was dark. Soft cracking of burning wood filled the air. A warm cosiness prepared a safe surrounding and without movement she felt comfortable. Only deep breathing would bring a burning sting at her side to life.

Malithrá left her eyes closed for a while. She didn't know how long she had slept nor what time of day it was. Where was she? She remembered having asked that question. So probably not at home. Then her mother must be worrying. She had to get back home as soon as possible. With a sigh the girl opened her eyes. The dim light of the fireplace painted warm highlights on the otherwise dark interior of the room. What had happened? She didn't recall anything. Only that she had woken up before. And the darkness. And a fall.

She blinked and looked around the room. It seemed familiar. A fireplace, a window, a wardrobe... was there another bed just opposite to the one she was lying in? A chair, a table, a person... a dwarf!

The girl twitched in shock and regretted her uncontrolled movement right away. Why was there a dwarf in this room? Oh wait... yes, of course. He... no, _they_ had brought her here. The King's pint, Watrown, she was wounded. She had to get away.

Carefully Malithrá moved under the blanket. Her side hurt badly and she felt weak but that didn't matter right now. She had to get out of this room. Away from these dwarves. They were dangerous. Why had they helped her until now? Who knows, they must be promising themselves something from it. Maybe they'd want her to repay the debt. She wasn't rich, mother and her were only living from what they earned with hard work. No way she was giving those dwarves the chance to rob them of the little they had. Her bed wasn't far from the door so she should be able to get at least into the hallway. And from there it shouldn't be too hard to get further.

Malithrá managed to get her feet out of bed and her body into a sitting position. Her side screamed in pain but she gave her best to ignore it. She peered over to the dwarf fearfully. She mustn't wake him at all costs! Quietly she slid off the bedside.

A pained cry woke Kíli from his slumber. He blinked the sleep from his view and looked around the room in order to find the source of the sound. The bed was empty. Right beside it was a white bundle on the floor. Shivering and trying to suppress further sounds of agony.

"Malithrá!"

Kíli was on his feet in the blink of an eye and rushed to the girl's side. She must have tried to get up. But her foot was injured as well, it must have given in to the sudden weight and thus the wound at her side must have taken new damage from the fall. He could see tears running down her face while she could hardly contain crying from pain.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. It's alright, okay? I'm here, I'll help you. Just lay down first. We need to lessen the pressure on the wounds. Here, I got you, relax. Try to relax, okay? Why didn't you say something?"

But the girl didn't even seem to hear him at first. Instead she even tried to stand up another time, failing painfully. Kíli got hold of her shoulders and ordered her again to relax and lay down, trying to calm her. "Missy, please! You need to relax or it'll hurt even more. Trust me! It's alright, I'm here, I'll help you!" His words seemed to have hit a spot and the girl more or less froze in her attempts to move. Tear-filled eyes glared at him gloomily and the only thing she uttered in a hard voice was "Nothing's alright." Then she more or less let Kíli help her lie down on the floor, far from relaxing. The dwarf looked at her worriedly. "Miss, I know this must be unpleasant to you. But please don't do something like that again, it will only make it worse." He gazed at her side. "I will need to check on your wound..." He could physically feel the frightened death glare the girl was shooting him and sighed. "Missy..." he turned and looked at her. "Your wound might have opened again from the impact and needs tending." "I'm alright", the girl hissed. "Just leave me be." The dwarf rolled his eyes. "Fine, let's get you back to bed first. Just stay as you are, I'll lift you up 'n in", he said and carefully slid his arms under the girl's body. He couldn't ignore her twitching and stiffening at the touch nor the fearful look in her eyes when he had placed her back unto the sheets.

As gentle as possible he pulled out the blanket from under her and covered the girl with it again. "You sure you don't want me to check on that wound...?", he tried a last time. The answer remained the same. The dark haired dwarf sighed. "Is there anything you need? Something to drink? Eat?" The girl stayed silent for a while but nodded in the end. "... something to drink would be good..."

Kíli couldn't help a somewhat relieved smile. At least something. Maybe that's why she had tried to get up in the first place. After helping her drink, he hoped to engage the girl into a little more talking. Yet the strain from before must have been too much for her body. When Kíli turned to her again after putting the cup aside, she was sound asleep.

* * *

"We can't bring her back, Fee. We need to find someone who'll do it."

Kíli leaned against the door frame and stared into the fire. His brother looked at him wondering.

"What's with the sudden change of plan? I thought you wanted to take care of her?"

The dark haired dwarf sent him a pained glance.

"That's the reason. She won't let me." "You're giving up?" "That's not it." Kíli frowned. "It's one thing to help a shocked person but I got the feeling that she's afraid, or at least very wary of us. We won't do neither her nor us any good if we are the ones who bring her back." He glanced at his brother. "I'll go and see the doc, maybe he knows someone who can take over from here."

But the doctor wasn't in town, not even at home. He had moved on to yet another village where patients awaited him. And none of the travellers staying at the inn was willing to take care of a wounded girl. The young dwarf returned in low spirits, gloomily telling his brother the news. Malithrá was still sleeping, she hadn't woken up while Fíli had kept watch. The brothers glanced at her while speaking quietly.

"She's hardly moving in her sleep. Maybe she'll be fine to travel in a few days." The blonde sent his brother a pondering gaze. "We could ask the landlady to take care of her and maybe there'll be travellers who will take her with them in a week or so."

Kíli shook his head. "No, we can't leave her like this. She can't even get up yet nor take care of herself in the easiest tasks. And you've seen the landlady – buzzing around the place with hardly any time at hands it seems. I doubt she'll be in good hands here."

Fíli's eyebrows rose and he peered at his brother impishly. "Oh? Still caring for that ungrateful brat?"

The spoken to grimaced. "Whatever, bro. I said I'd take care of her and I won't go back on my word, even if she doesn't know it. When we leave I need to know she's looked after as good as possible." He glanced at the older dwarf. "So let's hope she recovers quickly and her mood will change."

A few hours later it seemed that Kíli's hope had been valid. When Malithrá woke up around midday, she obviously tried her best to be more open and not as cool as the times before. She allowed Kíli to help her sit up, eat and drink and was even rested enough to engage in careful talk. While she was really trying her best, an insecurity lay over the girl's every word and gesture. The dwarf was wondering if he had done something wrong but could recall nothing.

As he brought her another cup of tea, the girl suddenly remembered something.

"Say, have you heard any news of unusual sightings in the area?", she asked as she received the cup.

"Unusual sightings?" Kíli frowned. "None that I have heard of. Like what?"

Malithrá took a careful sip, her hands still unstable.

"Like beasts long unseen in these forests. … like... wargs?"

"Wargs? No, there would have been rumours among the guests here if there were. Why do you want to know?"

The girl took another sip and peeked at the dwarf over the rim of her cup. "Cause I've seen one."

Kíli looked at her baffled. "You've seen one? A warg? When?"

"The night before you found me. I just remembered, I think. It attacked me and I fell down the cascade."

She glanced in direction of her feet. "It got me before I could get out of reach it seems."

The dwarf sprang up from the bedside, alarmed.

"A warg sighting! That's bad news. They rarely roam alone. There must be others out there, too! We need to inform the people! Where was it heading?"

Malithrá twitched from the sudden movement and bit her lip to not let out a cry. "Hngh... 'twas heading towards Orcfeste it seemed. I wanted to warn everyone but it saw me before I had the chance to."

Kíli sat himself down again. "Well, you cannot bring the news there yourself right now. We could send a messenger to your family. They can tell the others then. … do you still live with your parents?"

He glanced at the girl and noted a shadow darkening her face.

"I live with my mother. There is no other close family."

Oops, a tender spot he had hit. Kíli apologized right away. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know your father is dead..."

But the girl snorted. "Yeah, dead. I wish he was. Then we wouldn't have had to hide all those years and mother wouldn't be so..." She caught herself and hastily glanced at the dumbstruck dwarf. "Ah, forget it. It's just that we do not wish to have any contact with that guy..."

An awkward silence arose as the dwarf didn't know what to say and the girl didn't want to speak any more. In the end, Kíli mumbled a sheepish "sorry..." and the girl mustered a slight smile. "It's alright, you have done nothing wrong. Instead..." she lowered her eyes and voice. "... I haven't thanked you yet, have I? For saving my life and taking care of me."

The dwarf's face brightened up.

"Oh, no problem! We love to help", he grinned, his cheerful mood back at once.

Malithrá couldn't help an amused smile, but it darkened quickly. "Of course... I will pay you back when I can. … you must've spent a lot of money on me already and you also got delayed I reckon..."

Opposite to her expectations, the dwarf's face didn't change to the business-expression she had seen on many merchants once the talk turned to payment and profit. Instead she was faced with a still open smile. "Ah, don't worry about that, Missy. We weren't expecting anything from the beginning. It's not like us to leave someone in need without help." He winked at her playfully, making the girl all flustered.

"B-but shouldn't you be on your way right now? I-I don't want to be the reason to hold you up! There... there must be a doctor in town who can tend to me while needed and then I'll find a way to get back to Orcfeste. Honestly, you shouldn't get delayed because of me even more!"

Kíli's happy face dampened a bit. "There is no doctor here right now, he's out for a while. So until you can travel, we will take care of you. After that, if you wish, we can find you someone who can safely get you back home. But until then, you need to stay in bed and rest, okay?"

Malithrá stared at the dwarf in front of her for a while in disbelief. She just couldn't imagine them to help her without asking anything in return. "... are you even a real dwarf...?" she murmured. The spoken to frowned at her, bewildered. "'xcuse me?" But the girl only made a waving gesture with her hand. "Ah, nothing. Nothing..."

Kíli looked confused but left the barely understood remark as it was. He didn't want to spoil the good talk, though it was vexing him a little.

When Fíli returned to the room a little later, Malithrá had fallen asleep again. Pleased with what his brother had to report, he took over the watch while Kíli went out to find a messenger about the warg matter. So far the girl seemed to recover on a fast pace. Not something he had expected for a person as fragile looking as her. But very welcome. This way they could be moving on sooner than he had dared to hope. Until then, all he had to do was to kill time in this small town which didn't offer much except for the usual shops, inns and drunken men at night.

* * *

 _Hi everyone! Thank you for reading this far! I hope this chapter wasn't too long and boring but I think it's important for understanding the characters and setting the base for the coming chapters..._

 _Feedback is very welcome! :)_


	4. Chapter 4 - Fear

Chapter 4 - Fear

Dark shadows rushing back and forth. She couldn't focus. Deep voices, glowing eyes. They were everywhere. Greed and violence filled the air. Laughter echoed from invisible walls. And pain. Laughter and pain. Again and again they came. _Please stop! Please stop hurting me! It hurts... it hurts!_

"Aah!"

With a cry the girl woke from her nightmare. Her body ached, her head was spinning. It was them. It was them again! They had almost...

"Malithrá!"

A dark figure loomed over her.

The girl screamed in panic. "NO! Get away! GET AWAY!"

She tried to move and pain shot up her side.

Big hands tried to get hold of her but she pushed her assaulter against the chest as hard as she could.

She could hear the impact leaving the creature out of breath for a moment. Quickly she scrambled out of bed and aimed for the door. Hitting the floor as her feet gave in. Getting up again. It hurt so much!

Someone grabbed her shoulder and she spun around to free herself with a punch. It hit. She was free.

The door.

Down the hallway.

Twice she fell.

Twice she forced herself up again.

Out of the house.

Out of this place.

Under a big tree her body eventually denied her any further service.

Searching for support at the tree trunk, the girl broke down, sobbing.

Back at the inn's room, Kíli was staring at the open door and empty hallway in shock. He had noticed the girl having a fitful sleep and went over to check on her. Just when she had woken up. He didn't understand what had happened next. She had screamed and hit him and ran out of the room in the end despite her wounded state. But what had truly left him frozen where he was, was the fear in her eyes. The horror when she had looked at him.

Someone shook him at the shoulder. "Hey, Kíli. Kíli! Hey! What happened?"

It was his brother. As if in trance, he turned his head towards him. "... she's gone...", he mumbled.

"I can see that. But what was all the screaming about? What happened?"

He looked worried.

Kíli just stared at him. "I don't know." He gazed aside and repeated "I don't know. … but she was afraid."

Fíli shook his head in incomprehension. "Afraid of what? Well, doesn't matter, we gotta go and bring her back. Come on!"

But Kíli didn't come. Instead he got hold of his brothers arm, stopping him.

"No, Fíli. We can't."

"What?! Why? She's gonna bleed to death out there!"

The younger dwarf only shook his head.

"Fíli, no. You don't understand. … she was afraid of ME."

A silence arose as Fíli stared at his sibling, baffled. Then he took a deep breath and frowned.

"... is that so..."

He let out a sigh and placed his hands on each of Kíli's shoulders. He could see how much this seemed to distress his little brother.

"Kíli, look at me" he ordered softly. Slowly the spoken to met his gaze. "It's alright, okay? There is nothing you could blame yourself for. And that's why – even if she was afraid of you right now – we gotta go and search for her. If we don't, you'll blame yourself if something happens to her. She needs us right now, okay? Even if she doesn't feel comfortable with it. It's up to us to help her. … agreed?"

Silently his brother nodded. Then they set out to search for the wounded girl.

* * *

Malithrá was leaning against the tree. She could see the lanterns around her, occasional people entering and leaving houses. The night was dark and chilly. Probably thanks to this, her head had cooled down rather quickly, leaving her the chance to think properly.

In her panic, the girl hadn't paid attention to where she had run to. The menacing dwarf at the room must have been Kíli or his brother. Had he really wanted to harm her right then? She frowned. They had been so nice and caring. Even if her feelings told her otherwise, she couldn't find a proper reason for a change of mind.

A shudder ran down her spine and she could feel something pulsing at her side. Did the wound open again? She wouldn't be surprised if it had. Why had she been in such a panic? Oh, yes, that must have been a dream again. Just another nightmare. So it wasn't really the brothers' fault.

She bit her lip, feeling guilty. Hadn't she hit who ever it was? In the face? Yes, dwarves were stronger than usual people, but they were still beings made of flesh and bones. Hopefully she hadn't hit the nose...

Another shudder rushed through her body and she pulled her legs closer. Her left ankle was hurting badly once she moved her foot. She couldn't see it in the dim light but it must be swollen.

Suddenly, she heard voices drawing near. Now that was the least thing she wanted – being seen in this precarious state. Carefully she slid deeper into the shade. But her white dress gave her away.

"Hey, guys! Look over there, at the tree!"

"Hm?"

"Ooouuh, hey there, pretty girl! Whatcha doing here all on your own?"

"My, my, aren't you cold I wonder? Come here, I'll warm you!"

Malithrá grimaced as six men – obviously having already drunk a little too much – spotted her sitting under the tree. She detested drunken men. They were unpredictable, violent and even more driven by "basic needs" than usual.

Gathering her strength she tried to bring an answer that would make them leave her alone.

"Thanks, but I'm waiting here for my friends. They must be here any moment now."

The six guys looked at each other, then grinned and started walking towards her. Not what she had hoped for.

"Waiting for your friends? Probably some other girls, right?" one of them inquired with a look on his face she didn't like at all.

"Sorry to disappoint but no, there won't be any other girls." Malithrá managed to say.

Most faces indeed showed disappointment, nevertheless they kept coming closer.

"Ah, pity."

"But that's alright, Missy. We'll just keep you company till then."

"Yeah, you must be freezing in that dress!"

"I know a way to make you feel warm again in no time!"

Malithrá started to feel sick. They had her surrounded by now and she couldn't move without inflicting pain on herself.

"Thank you, but I'd rather like to spend the time waiting on my own", she gave another try but her hopes sank rapidly as the first guy crouched down beside her and looked at her more closely. Too close for her taste.

"Aw, c'mon little beauty. Don't spoil the fun. You're a pretty one, why don't we go and have a drink or two together?"

"No, thanks!"

"I bet she's just touchy cause she's cold" she heard from the other side. She froze as she felt the guy who had just spoken sit down right beside her.

"Please, I just want to be left alone right now!" she begged but that seemed to only make things worse. The guys stood too close to leave an opening and the latter one simply put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in. Malithrá pulled up her shoulders, trying to make herself as small as possible. "Stop it!..."

"Hey, I'm just being nice to you! You're freezing and I wanna help you get warm again. Here, lemme rub your legs..."

"Don't touch me!"

"Hoi, hoi, no need to get loud. You'll see, you'll feel better right away."

"I said: Don't touch me!"

Slowly the cold grip of fear tightened around Malithrá's insides. How far were they going to go? She couldn't defend herself against six men. All she could think of was curling up as much as possible to give as little contact surface as possible. But that guy's hand didn't leave her leg as much as she protested. She couldn't even back away. Fear rose and made her shiver, which only gave the other man at her side the idea to join his fellow's actions in order to "help her get warm again".

She cried out in distress. "Please just leave me alone!" But to no avail.

"Hey, you! Leave her alone at once!"

Six heads turned as a loud voice came from behind them. "Huh? What do you want?" the guy on the left asked. That voice... "Kíli!" Malithrá shouted without second thought. "Kíli, I'm here!"

The guy beside her glared at her.

"Tche, your friends I suppose..."

"You're not needed here, dwarves! She'll rather hang out with us now."

"That I doubt." That was Fíli's voice. "It would be better for you if you leave now."

Not only Malithrá had heard the warning undertone. The guys at her sides stood up and stepped beside their friends.

"Oh yeah? And what if we don't?"

"Then you'll regret it." was the simple answer.

Then men laughed nervously. "We're six grown ups against two midgets. I see no reason why we should be the ones regretting."

"I'll say it one last time", Fíli's calm voice rang out. "Leave our friend alone and get lost."

"Try and make us!" the most cheeky one shouted. Then Malithrá only heard something fly through the air followed by a cry and an impact at the tree trunk.

"That bastard!"

The line in front of Malithrá cleared and gave her sight at the dwarves. Or rather on one of them. Fíli was standing in the place, one hand at his belt, tossing a dagger into the air and catching it again with the other. None of the guys had fallen, so the first thrown object hadn't hit any vital point. Thankfully!

The guys withdrew from around the girl, unsure if they should try to take on the dwarf or rather leave the place. They probably had no weapons themselves, so their calculation 6 on 2 wasn't going very well anymore.

Suddenly she heard a rustle beside her and turned to see someone hurry over to her side. Unspeakable relief made way in her chest and tears started welling up. "Kíli!"

The dwarf stopped at half an arm length distance and glanced at her worriedly. "You okay?"

"Oh Kíli, I'm so sorry! I'm so glad you came!" the girl started sobbing. But her words made a relieved smile flash over Kíli's face.

"Me too..." he murmured. "Can you walk?" She shook her head and tears ran down her cheeks. "... I think my wound opened again..." Kíli grimaced. "Thought so. May I carry you?"

The girl nodded and as the dwarf carefully picked her up, she even put her arms around his neck for support. "What about Fíli?" she asked. The brown haired only grinned. "Oh, he's just seeing those bullies off. He'll be right there."

And so it was. The group had decided on leaving the dwarves and girl to themselves and headed off to the next open tavern. After pulling his dagger out of the tree, Fíli joined his brother and the girl on their way back to the inn. Malithrá was so relieved, she didn't even try to stop her tears from running. For once, she felt rather safe with dwarves than men.

Back at the room, Kíli put the girl down on the bed and turned to get clean bandages and water, but Malithrá held him back. "Wait."

The dwarf looked at her surprised but followed her wish.

"I'm... I'm sorry... for earlier..."

That was an earnest apology and Kíli smiled. "Apology accepted. But now we need to get your wound fixed."

The girl grimaced but didn't reject. Kíli turned and almost bumped into his brother who had brought warm water and a soft towel. "Here. You get started, I'll get the rest" the blonde dwarf smirked and handed his younger sibling bowl and towel.

Malithrá had given up on moving herself right now and glanced at the nearing dwarf a little helpless and insecure. He put the items on the bed table and carefully covered the girl's lower body with the blanket before pulling her dress up to get access to the wound. The bandage was stained with blood. Kíli glanced at the girl's tense face and loosened the old bandages as gentle as possible.

"You know" he started, trying to avert Malithrá's attention from the aches, "that was quite impressive how you ran out of here." He sent her a grin. "I'd have never thought you'd make it that far in this state."

Her reply was pained. "I was panicking. People tend to do impressive things by then – be it for better or worse."

Kíli bit his lip. "Did I scare you?"

Silence. He didn't stop taking the bandage off but hoped for an answer without having to look at her. In the end he did though and was met with a difficult and slightly sad expression.

"... yes. You did."

Kíli nodded slightly. "Thought so... I'm sorry."

"No, it's... it has nothing to do with you in particular... it's just... it's... it's a long story", the girl muttered.

Kíli sent her a side-glance and reached for water and towel. "We got time."

* * *

 _Shout out to a friend who gave me tons of feedback on the so far written story! I'll update the first chapters as soon as I can. It'll be only small changes but still. Feedback is always appreciated! :)_

 _Thanks for reading and take care! :D_


	5. Chapter 5 – The past catching up

_Thanks so much for the reviews, encouragement and feedback! Some questions have been asked, I try answering them after the chapter. Now have fun reading!_

Chapter 5 – The past catching up

Malithrá fell silent for a while. But just as Kíli thought there wouldn't be any explanation, the girl's quiet voice reached his ear.

"I'm … afraid of dwarves in general..."

Baffled he looked up. "What?" "OU!" "Oh, sorry!" Quickly he withdrew the wet towel he had apparently pressed at the girl's side a little too strongly. Then he sent her a puzzled glance before resuming his work.

"You're afraid of dwarves... in general?" Fíli asked from the other side of the room.

The girl nodded. "Well, you couldn't imagine better company then..." he sighed. "Can't change what we are."

"But why? Did any of our kin do you any harm?" Kíli asked.

"You... could say so...", Malithrá mumbled. She wasn't very keen on telling the details. The brothers exchanged glances and Fíli spoke up. "That's unfortunate. But only because you had bad experiences with some dwarves once doesn't mean that everyone of us is like that."

The girl sighed. "... I don't expect you to understand..."

"But I'd like to!" Kíli protested. "At least gimme a chance!"

Malithrá rolled her eyes in desperation and bit her lower lip. She really wasn't keen on going deeper. Though she appreciated Kíli's words.

The older brother could see the girl's unwillingness and shushed the younger one. "Leave it be for now, Kíli." "But...!"

"It's cause of my father", the girl interrupted the brothers. Both looked at her in bewilderment.

"Your father?", the dark haired wondered. "What's your father got to do with it...?" He stopped and remembered something about the girl not being on too good terms with her parent.

Malithrá stared at the dwarf at her side for a moment and pressed her lips together. "It's cause of him that I'm afraid of dwarves."

Kíli frowned, confused. "But... you're not a dwarf, are you?" "No!" "Then how..." "My grandpa is."

The brothers gaped at her, then at each other, then back at the girl.

Malithrá sighed. "My father's a half-blood and got all the bad traits you find in your race. He abused my mother and she fled with me. Since then we're always on the run to avoid him. Mother told me everything about it. She said it's the dwarven blood that makes him like that. I could only find her words affirmed in encounters with other dwarves so far."

There, it was out. The brothers would probably hate her for those words now. The girl closed her eyes and for a while the room was silent.

"That's not right."

Kíli was the first to break the silence. Malithrá glanced at him. He looked like he had been slapped in the face. "That's just..." He bit his lip, then returned to carefully tending to the wound. Fíli stood where he was for a moment more, staring into the flames of the fireplace. Then he slowly walked over and handed his brother new bandages. He, too, looked like he had been hurt by her words.

The girl peeked at him and the blonde noticed. A cautious smile moved his lips.

"Thank you for telling us, Malithrá. Please understand that, no matter what has happened to you or how you think dwarves... are..., we're not planning to harm you in any way." The girl nodded. "However", he added, reassuringly placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I'm sure you're aware of how your words hurt since it's our own blood you're referring to." As the girl wanted to defend herself, he held up his hand in an appeasing gesture. "We asked for it, we can deal with it. But I hope you will find most of your ideas about dwarves to be wrong in time."

Their eyes met for a moment, then Malithrá let out a sigh and nodded slightly. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Fíli smiled. "Anytime again."

" _A quite small lady, yes. I treated one a few days ago. Definitely no child anymore yet quite small for her age." - "Are there many women like this around here?" - "No, she's the first I've seen. Elderly women grow smaller with the years, but that lady was very young and rather dwarf-sized. She didn't look like one though." - "That's interesting. Where did you come from again?" - "The settlement near Watrown."_

Watrown.

He's coming.

He's coming for me.

Malithrá gasped and her eyes flew wide open. He was coming. The doc had given her away.

Her eyes darted through the room. Was he here already? Something stirred at the other side of the room and the girl froze. But it was just Kíli coming over. Seeing the girl's expression he stopped with an unsure face and turned to retreat back to bed.

"Wait!" the girl called out. The dwarf glanced at her questioningly. "Not me scaring you this time?" he asked.

Malithrá shook her head. "No. Please stay."

Kíli shrugged and walked to the girl's bed side. "What's wrong? A nightmare?"

Malithrá gazed at him worriedly. "More than that. He's coming."

Kíli frowned. "Who?"

"My father."

The young dwarf didn't really know what to do with the frightened girl. So he sat down beside her and lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with helpless eyes, shivering.

"Hey, don't be afraid", he smiled. "It was just a nightmare, okay? And we're here, too. Nothing's gonna happen to you as long as we're here. We said we'd take care of you, remember?"

"But my father..." "Can't do anything against brother and me. Don't worry. We're more than capable fighters."

Malithrá bit her lip and stared at her quivering hands. She looked miserable and tears started forming at the edges of her eyes. Kíli pondered for a moment, then gently put his arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her into a careful hug. He could hear her draw a surprised breath and feel her stiffen for a split second, but then her head rested against his shoulder and nothing but quiet sobbing filled the room.

After the girl had fallen asleep, Kíli returned to the other bed he was sharing with his brother. There hadn't been a free single room with more beds than two. He nudged his sibling. "Hey, gimme some space, too!" Fíli mumbled something and Kíli decided to simply push his brother aside.

"What's the matter?" Fíli grumbled. Kíli just pushed him a little further. "You taking too much space. And Máli just had a nightmare. She thinks her father's coming." The blonde blinked at his brother sleepily and yawned. "Máli? Who's Máli?" Kíli pulled up the blanket and rolled his eyes. "Malithrá of course. But I'm tired of that long complicated name", he grinned. "And as long as she doesn't know, I can call her however I want, right?" At that Fíli sighed and rolled on his side. "Whatever... Good night."

Two days after the evening Malithrá had told the brothers of her fear, Kíli returned to their room only to find it empty. He sat down and waited, assuming his brother and the girl went to the bathroom or something along the lines. Yet when the door opened only the blonde dwarf entered. Kíli frowned. "Where's Máli?" The spoken to looked at his brother and then over to the bed he hadn't noticed being empty yet. He was genuinely shocked. "I don't know. When I left the room a few minutes ago, she had just gone back to sleep. I swear I wasn't gone for more than five minutes!"

Kíli nodded. "So it can't be another "fleeing cause of panic"- matter. Also, the door was closed." He scowled. "Either she left by herself – which I doubt – or someone came and took her."

Swiftly he stood up and picked up his weapon belt. "Let's go and search for her. They can't have come far yet!"

The market place was crowded at this late afternoon. But no one carrying or dragging a small person could be seen. Except for mothers with their children, but Malithrá was a little taller than them. Fíli stopped several passers-by and asked them about a blonde girl in a white dress but none of them seemed to have seen her. Until a little boy piped up, obviously happy to know something his mother didn't: "I've seen a guy carrying a blonde girl in white dress that way!" And he gestured towards one of the side roads leaving the place. The dwarves smiled. "Thanks lad! You got sharp eyes." Overly proud by the compliment received, he squeaked in delight and carried on with big steps while holding his mother's hand.

The brothers hurried on towards the street and paid close attention to possible open doors or side ways. Suddenly Fíli stopped. "Did you hear that?" Kíli listened intently. Yes, a male angry voice and girl's... His eyes narrowed. "This way!" And he turned into a narrow side street that opened into a small square surrounded by mostly storehouses. From inside one of them came voices.

"You're gonna tell me where she is right now or you'll regret it, you damn girl!"

"Forget it! I'll never tell you!"

"You brat, I'm gonna teach you some manners!"

The brothers heard a cry while racing over to the storehouse. Fíli reached it first, flung the door open and froze as he stared at the scene in front of him.

Malithrá was on the ground, covering her face with her arms. On top of her sat an obviously enraged dark haired man, throwing punches and curses at the girl. Right now he pulled out a knife and grabbed the girl's arms, moving them forcefully from her face. She squirmed in pain under his weight.

"I'll show you your place, Lithrá", he cooed and raised the knife for the girl to see. "I'll mark you and with this I will be always able to find you again... ARGH!"

A sharp sough cut the air and the man cried out. An arrow had shot the knife out of his hand. Fuming the guy looked up to where the shot had come from.

Two dwarves were standing at the door, one of them having yet another arrow ready to shoot. "Get away from that girl!" he called out, hardly containing his anger. "Or the next arrow will pierce more than just your fingers!"

As the man didn't budge, Kíli took a step inside, taking aim. "Three..." he started. "... two..."

"Stop! Don't shoot him, Kíli!", Malithrá cried out. "Don't shoot him!"

"Why not?" She could hear the confusion in his voice. The man smirked at the dwarf.

"He's my father."

A short silence spread. The man's expression didn't make it any better as Kíli lowered his bow. "Get lost. This is family business," he grinned maliciously.

"You must have a wrong understanding on 'family' then," Kíli snarled and raised his bow again. "Let her go or I will shoot you." He took aim. "Even if it doesn't kill you, it will hurt enough to force you away."

Malithrá's father fell silent for a moment, then he raised his hands and stood up. At once Fíli was at her side and picked her up while Kíli kept his aim on the man. When Fíli was back at the door with the girl, Kíli took arrow and knife which his brother had gathered inside the storehouse. He glared at the man inside the room. "And you'll stay here and think about what 'family' means!" he hissed, stepped out of the house and slammed the door shut, locking it with the man's own knife.

 _Thanks for reading! As always, reviews/feedback is much appreciated! :)_

 _Now to the questions asked:_

 _I try updating the story once every month. Sometimes it might take longer, but I won't abandon this story, don't worry :)_

 _As to how old the main characters (Fíli, Kíli, Malithrá) are – in their races they would count as youths, but in actual years they're older than human youths._

 _Also, I'm Christian, not specifically Catholic._

 _Take care everyone and God bless you! 3_


	6. Chapter 6 - Flight

Chapter 6 - Flight

Back at the inn, Fíli started packing their bags while Kíli checked on Malithrá's injuries. Everyone kept silent, either from shock or anger.

"What did he want from you?" Kíli asked after a while. He was glad to find the girl's side-wound to be rather unharmed.

"My mother's whereabouts." Malithrá had been crying silently from the moment they had left the storehouse.

"But you didn't tell him?"

"No."

"What now?"

"... I've got to warn her."

Fíli had finished packing up and came over. "We'll leave the town heading south. Then we're turning back towards Orcfeste once we're out of sight – on the other side of the river." He looked at the girl sternly. "Do you think you can walk a bit?"

Malithrá glanced in direction of her feet. "I don't know. But my legs seem able to carry me again for a while. Though I don't know for how long let alone how fast."

"The ankle isn't swollen anymore", Kíli declared and sent the girl a smile. "That's good news for once." She returned the smile. "And my head isn't spinning anymore either."

A short time after, the three paid the landlord and headed out of town, following the big road along the running river. As dusk fell and no more people were travelling the street, they left the road and went down to the riverside. By now the brothers took turns in carrying the girl. She had been walking by herself the whole time on the street, supported by Kíli carrying part of her weight with her arm around his shoulders and his around her waist. He couldn't help her much though as her wound was in the way. They found a shallow part with some stones to cross the river and turned back towards the mountains.

Not long and Fíli, who was taking the lead right now, stopped in his tracks and slowly reached for one of his throwing axes. Kíli, who carried the girl, closed the distance. "What is it?" he whispered.

Then he could see it too: A light grey wolf had stepped into their path a few meters away and stared at them. When it spotted the girl in the dwarf's arms, the wolf let out a sound like a low bark. Malithrá slowly raised her head from Kíli's shoulder. "Anyo." She smiled. "My friend."

Kíli looked at her surprised. "What? Your friend? That wolf?" Malithrá nodded slightly. "Yes. She's no danger to you. Don't harm her."

Fíli considered the girl's words for a moment, then he straightened, leaving his axes where they were. "What does it want?" he asked, not daring to let the wolf out of sight.

Malithrá withdrew her arm from Kíli's neck and stretched it towards the wolf. "She probably wants to help me."

At her gesture the wolf started moving, paced over to the girl and touched her hand with its nose. The girl smiled. "She will carry me. Thank you", she added towards the wild creature.

The brothers only gazed at each other in wonder. "You sure about this?" the older one asked. But Malithrá only chuckled. "Yes. Anyo has been my friend for years already. Please set me down, Kíli."

A little reluctantly the dwarf followed her wish. Then he helped her find a good position on the wolf's back so she wouldn't fall down but didn't have too much pain either.

Without a word the wolf started moving forward and the dwarves didn't see any other option as to follow it. It seemed to know the way. What a strange person that Malithrá was.

After a while the wolf suddenly stopped and let out a warning sound. The girl swayed on its back and the dwarves hurried to catch up. Fíli caught Malithrá before she fell off the beast's back. She could hardly keep her eyes open.

"By my beard! Tell us to stop before you collapse!" he scolded and lifted her up. "... sorry... ", was all the girl could manage before she fell asleep.

"We need a place for the night." Fíli turned to his brother. "We can carry her for a while but it's too dark to properly see the path. I don't want to get her into the danger of further injuries." Kíli nodded. "Me neither. Hey, you!", he addressed the creature which kept staring at them with clever eyes. "We need a place to rest for the night. Do you know one?"

Fíli stared at his brother in disbelief. "Kíli, you're talking to a wolf! As if it would understand what you're saying!" But the younger one just shrugged. "Máli was talking to it, so why not try it as well?" Fíli just rolled his eyes. But then the wolf suddenly started moving away from the dwarves. "Oh, hey! Wait!" The brothers followed the wolf further into the forest and while Fíli kept on grumbling "Can't believe we're being as stupid as to follow a wild beast into the forest!", they reached an opening.

To their left the river rushed down the valley, while to their right a small meadow filled the air with the scent of its flowers. Right in front of them was a cliff and in the now shining moon they could see steam rising from behind some rocks.

Kíli rejoiced: "Hot springs! Yay!" Fíli could only stare at his brother skipping towards the rocks. "Seriously?! Hey, Kíli! Come back and help me set the camp first!" he laughed.

The wolf had placed itself on a rock between meadow and hot springs, keeping watch while the brothers spread their blankets on the floor and covered the sleeping girl with their cloaks and coats. "Fire?", Kíli asked but Fíli shook his head. "Not as long as the wolf is here. They don't like fire as far as I know." He glanced over to the wolf. "I don't trust it but Malithrá seems to. And she's the most vulnerable one of us. Maybe we can dare not watching that wolf, too." "It behaves more like a dog than a wolf", Kíli muttered. "Come, let's take a bath while we still can!" he grinned and pulled his brother towards the springs.

"Hey, Malithrá. Wake up."

Kíli carefully shook the girl at her shoulder until she blinked her eyes open. Confused she looked into the dwarf's grinning face. "What is it?"

"Your wolf-friend lead us to some hot springs at the river side. It seems like they got a healing effect, so you should try them!"

Malithrá sat up and gazed around. The moon was near the zenith, it must be the middle of the night. Anyo was still keeping watch on her rock, unmoving like a statue. A few meters away she could see steam rise into the chilly air.

"Where's Fíli?", she asked.

Kíli chuckled. "Still soaking. First I couldn't get him in, now I can't get him out", he grinned. "Doesn't matter, there are several ponds and rocks are blocking the view to them. That's why you can't see him from here."

The girl nodded. "Okay. Giving it a try can't hurt..."

Kíli helped her stand up and walk over to one of the wells. Then he left her to "get my brother out before he's a fish". Carefully the girl pulled her dress up and sat down at the basin rim, her feet warming instantly from the hot water. A smile crossed her lips. This indeed felt rather pleasant. She reached for the bandages at her side and took them off. Then she slid out of her clothes and immerged fully into the water. A tingle started at her wound but it didn't hurt. Leaning back against the rock on the side she glanced into the night sky, forgetting everything around her for a while.

Suddenly Malithrá heard a warning growl and looked around. There, a dark shadow moving on the edge of the cliff in front of her. She froze. A warg. Anyo let out a long howl and snarled. The warg kept pacing up and down on the cliff, seemingly searching for a way down. Quickly the girl scrambled out of the water and pulled her dress over. She could hear the brothers calling her name and turned to run over to them. Just then stones bounced down and she quickly ducked as the beast assaulted her from behind, flying over her figure and now blocking her way.

"You again!", the girl gasped, recognizing the scar in it's face. "Just leave me alone!"

But the warg only gnarled and jumped at his target once more. Malithrá sidestepped, slid off the slippery stone and fell into the pond. The warg stopped itself just in time to remain on firm ground. Then it prepared for another jump as Malithrá climbed out of the water on the other side. "Go back to where you came from!", she yelled at the creature and ducked to avoid the next attack. She could hear something hissing through the air and a yowl along with a loud splash as the warg landed in the river. "Malithrá!" As fast as she could she balanced along the rocks, beside her the strong current. Behind her the vile creature was trying to get out of the water. A few steps left and she could leave the riverside. But at once there was a strong pull on her dress and she lost her balance. With a cry she fell into the water, being caught by the current immediately. Trying to reach any rock in her way, the girl eventually got hold of one near the shore and clung to it for dear life, catching her breath. The water was freezing and her lungs felt like they would crush if they cramped any further. Only faintly she could hear shouting and growling, every other sound got drowned by the running water. Then, after what seemed an eternity, a near voice called her name. She looked towards the shore, spotting a figure stretching its arm towards her. "Grab my hand!"

Malithrá took a deep breath, pulled herself up a little and released one hand to reach for the helping one. But as she leaned over, the current got hold of her again, her fingers slipped off the rock and with a yelp she found herself back in the wild water.

"Don't worry, I got you!"

Kíli had managed to get hold of her hand before the current had pressed her under water and kept it in a firm grip. Carefully he pulled her over to the shore and up onto the saving bank. The girl coughed. She was drenched and immediately started shivering in the gentle night breeze. "Th-thank y-you..." she stammered, her hand still in Kíli's firm grip. His brother just came running over, Anyo following right behind him. "It's gone. That beast fled once it reached the other side of the river", the blonde dwarf reported. Malithrá managed a weak nod and leaned against her wolf-friend for support. "It was the one that attacked me before."

The brothers exchanged glances.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. The scar in its face."

Fíli frowned. "So it's probably more than just a stray warg." He observed the shivering girl. "Come, we need to get you warm and dry first. And then have a look at that wound of yours..."

Warmed up, with new bandages and dry clothes offered from the brothers, Malithrá had fallen asleep again. Fíli and Kíli sat at the fire and talked quietly, while Anyo kept watch a few meters from the camp. Nothing happened during the rest of the night and early in the morning Fíli woke his brother and the girl. They cleared the camp, leaving only the burnt wood left from the fire. Then they set off to Orcfeste at slow but constant pace, crossed the river where Malithrá had done so nights before and reached the town in the early evening.


	7. Chapter 7 - Breaking up

Chapter 7 - Breaking up

When they reached Malithrá's home, her mother was just returning from her grocery shopping. In the dim light of the street lantern Malithrá could see her features. She was crying.

"Mother!"

The woman looked up and gasped, eyes widened by surprise.

"Lithrá! Eru be praised... is that really you, dear?!"

She dropped her basket and ran towards the girl who freed herself from Fíli's supportive arm and took some careful steps alone before she met her mother and got pulled into a tight hug. Èthra laughed while tears ran down her cheeks, being too relieved to notice the two figures in the shade. Her daughter was back! She only let go when the girl protested slightly. "Mother... mother, you're hurting me..."

"Oh my, I'm sorry, dear! What happened to you? Where have you been? I've been sick with sorrow, finding your bed empty and no sign of where you had gone to left." She paused and looked Malithrá over. "Are you... are you injured?!"

The girl nodded. "Yes. But didn't you get word about my whereabouts?" She frowned as her mother shook her head. "... but then... you didn't get the warning either?" Now it was Èthra frowning. "No. What warning are you talking about?"

"Does that mean the message didn't reach this town?" Èthra twitched when she heard Kíli's voice and mustered the two dwarves as they stepped into the light. "I... I don't know what message you are talking about... Who are you?"

"Fíli.", said the blonde dwarf. "And Kíli.", added his brother, then they bowed in perfect unison: "At your service." Èthra was obviously startled. "These brothers helped me a lot, mother. They saved my life", Malithrá explained. The woman nodded. "I see." She rose and gestured towards the house. "Please, come inside. It is no good, talking in the streets."

Èthra bid them all into the kitchen and set her basket aside. Fíli and Kíli seemed a little uneasy until Malithrá offered them their seats. Silence fell upon the room while Èthra was setting the kettle to boil some water for tea and put four cups onto the table. Then she sat down and looked at the dwarves. "Now, please let me hear what happened and what warning you spoke about."

"Well, erm", Fíli cleared his throat. "To make it short: Your daughter was attacked by a warg. We found her by the riverside and took her to the next physician. Then we waited for her recovery so that she could travel back here. The doctor was very busy and couldn't take care of her as long as needed, so we made sure she'd get enough rest and treatment." He glanced over to Malithrá. "Then an incident made us hit the road sooner than expected."

"What incident?", Èthra asked, having a bad feeling.

Malithrá gazed at her mother. "Father showed up. He must have found me through the physician's tales."

Èthra's features grew hard. "Was that the warning?"

Fíli shook his head. "No. The warning was about the warg. And apparently we had all right to send a message out – the beast is still around. And wargs usually don't roam alone. Besides, there haven't been sightings of wargs for a very long time in this area. It might be a scout. It tried to kill your daughter as soon as she had seen it. Twice. Maybe it even took out the messenger – though I can't think of a way it would have learned about him."

"Where did you sent the messenger to?", Èthra wanted to know.

"The head of this town", Kíli replied. "I assumed he would be as wise as to take precautions for the town and warn its citizens. But maybe I was wrong."

For a while everyone went quiet, then the kettle started whistling and Èthra stood up to finish the tea. While adding herbal leaves to the boiling water she glanced at the dwarves. "Of course you are very welcome to stay here for the night. I am much indebted to you... ", and she looked at the girl at the other side of the table for a moment, "... for helping my daughter and taking care of her. Thank you." A slight smile graced her lips at those words, leaving no one in the room the slightest hint of the fight inside herself.

It was agreed that the brothers would stay for the night and leave the next morning. Èthra would go and see the head of town as soon as possible while Malithrá was to recover from the straining journey and help her wounds heal better. Slowly exhaustion made its way into everyone's limbs and thoughts. The brothers were sitting beside the fire while Malithrá rested at the table, the tea pot and cup beside her steaming. Èthra had left the kitchen to prepare the guest beds and planned on retreating right after. Silence covered the house, only broken by the crackling fire.

After a while Fíli got up, handed his brother another cup of tea and left the kitchen. Outsiders wouldn't realize, but he could see that his brother was very tired. Better go and see if any help was needed to speed things up, for Kíli and him apparently yearned for a good sleep. Listening for shuffling sounds he went to search for Malithrá's mother.

BANG!

A loud smash made Malithrá jump in her seat and her eyes flew over to where the sound had come from.

Beside the fire pieces of pottery lay scattered and a surprised expression lay over the dwarf's face.

He had broken it. He had broken the cup. The delicately decorated cup her mother had given her for her birthday. The first present she could remember. Now it was down on the floor, smashed to pieces, never to be used again.

"Oh no, I'm sorry." Dumbfounded the brown haired dwarf looked down to the mess he had caused. Malithrá couldn't tell if he was really sorry. "You... you broke it!" Aghast she stared at him. "Uhm... yes. I said I'm sorry. I'm gonna replace it, kay?" - "Huff... just leave it be." - "Hey, I said, I'm sorry!" The girl only raised her hands in a blocking gesture. A little annoyed, Kíli turned a bit, facing her. "Hey, what's the matter?" - "Nothing. Nothing. Just leave it be, okay? I'm quite worn out, you know?" Her voice was snappy. A slight laugh came from the dwarf. "Worn out? And you think I'm not?" Malithrá looked at him and now it was her turn to laugh. "Well, maybe you are. But certainly not as worn out as I am." - "Oh? And how would _you_ know?" - "Cause maybe _I_ am the one who is still a little 'scratched' here?!" Kíli made a noise sounding like a bitter laugh and a snort, followed by a mumbled "Wimp."

"... excuse me?" She stared at him dumbfounded. "Did you just call me 'wimp'?!" The dwarf returned her stare, raised from his seat and walked over to the table, leaning forward. Instinctively she drew back. A slight feeling of timidity rose inside her, making her eyes waver slightly under Kíli's gaze and eventually she looked away.

He couldn't but notice that. A hint of pity crept into his expression and voice as he spoke. Then he turned and walked away.

She looked up. „Sorry?" was the only thing she was able to utter. "... what did you just say?!" The young dwarf stopped in his tracks and came over again. But this time she didn't back away. Her just awakened anger kept her where she was, glaring back into the other's eyes as he raised his voice to repeat his statement: „I said, if you had just a LITTLE part of real dwarven blood inside your veins, you wouldn't be that timid and pitiful. … and you would NOT be such a drama queen and bother to the people around you... you undersized mixed blood."

That was too much. In one swift movement she rose from her seat, eyes locked with the dwarf in front of her. Her gaze burned with enkindled fury. "How dare you..." she hissed, teeth clenched. "I would LOVE it, if I hadn't got a single drop of your rotten dwarven blood inside my veins!" She couldn't see any reaction in his expression as she spoke those words. But she didn't care anymore. "How could I ever... how could I EVER have thought that maybe... maybe my mother was wrong...?!" She stared at him in disbelief. There was a growing anger shimmering in the dwarf's eyes. A hurt pride. Just like her father's eyes. Slowly, she shook her head, with a bitter, disillusioned smile. "No... she was right. You're just like him."

For a long moment they faced each other. Staring into each others eyes. Disappointment, anger, frustration and hard feelings reflecting in their gazes. No one spoke. No one shouted. Just stared for a moment that felt like an unbearable eternity.

Then Kíli broke the contact and turned around, heading directly for the front door. "Fíli! We're leaving! Now!" His startled brother appeared in the door frame. "What?" - "We're leaving. We're done here." He glanced back at Malithrá. "We've wasted enough time already. So let's get going." He took up his backpack and opened the door, obviously eager to get out. Fíli only looked helplessly from his brother to the girl and back to his brother. What on middle-earth had just happened between those two? He had never seen Malithrá's gaze as cold as it was now. Nor heard her speak in such a hard voice. "I will tell my mother that you had to leave in a hurry. She needs to rest now. Thank you for all your help and efforts... " she was rather addressing Fíli alone by now "... if possible, I will pay you back one day. Until then, may our paths not cross again. Have a safe journey."

As the door slammed shut, the blonde girl sank to the floor and cried bitterly.

It took Fíli quite some speed to catch up with his brother – eventually he reached him shortly before the gates. "Kíli! Kíli, wait up!" But his brother was stubbornly walking on. "Ey, what's the matter all of a sudden?" They reached the gates and since the night had fallen already, they had to wait for the porter to let them through. "I'm done here. I'll rather camp outside than share one more moment with that woman under the same roof!" Fíli stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

A small door in the gates opened and again he had to hurry after Kíli. "Don't mind visiting that town again, eh?", he scoffed silently. "What happened?" he wanted to know. "Nothing. I broke a cup. I apologized. And she completely freaked out about it." "That's all?" Fíli followed his stubbornly marching onward brother into the dark forest. "And now you're planning to walk on the whole way to the next town or what? I'm tired you know?!" He could only hear Kíli snorting and a mumble. "Hey, did you just call me 'another wimp'? What's wrong with you? I know you're tired but that's a little hard-uff!" He bumped into his sibling as the other one suddenly halted and turned. Kíli's eyes were glowing in the dark around them. "She insulted me. I can take a lot, but there's a limit, too, you know?" He swirled around, took a few steps and stopped again. A short pause, then he added quietly: "Sorry for calling you wimp, bro. Didn't mean it."

Fíli caught up and smiled slightly, slapping Kíli's shoulder. "It's alright. I'll forgive you if you find us a nice place to stay for the night."

 _This will be the last chapter for a while – I don't get to writing as much as I used to and am a little stuck in some parts as well. I won't give up the story, don't worry, but it'll take a while till the next chapter. So until then, take care and God bless you :)_


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